Children's Home run by The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 1 SC066466 Registered provider: The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider and is registered to care for up to six children. The home provides medium- to long-term placements for vulnerable children with emotional, social and psychological difficulties. At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Good 17/07/2024 Full Inadequate 03/05/2023 Full Good 28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 3

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inadequate

There are significant and serious shortfalls in safeguarding arrangements and the effectiveness of leaders and managers. These failings compromise children’s overall experiences and progress.

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inadequate

Since the last inspection, one child has experienced a successful and well-supported transition back to their family home. However, two other children have moved in and out of the home in an unplanned way. This has hindered their stability and progress. Five children were living in the home at the time of the inspection, four of whom spoke with the inspector and shared their views.

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inadequate

Children’s engagement with education is variable. While some children attend regularly and are making progress, others are not meaningfully engaged in education or employment. There is a lack of structured, purposeful activity during the day for those children not in formal education or employment. This limits children’s opportunities for learning and development.

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inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in children’s care planning and record-keeping. Many records do not reflect children’s current needs or align with their placing authority care plans. This lack of accurate, up-to-date information hinders staff’s ability to provide consistent care and to support children’s progress. Goals are not clearly identified or worked towards, which consequently has a negative impact on the effectiveness of the care provided.

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inadequate

Children are encouraged to participate in regular house meetings where they can share their views and contribute to decisions about daily life in the home. Recently, some children enjoyed a holiday that included positive experiences such as visits to the zoo and a theme park, which they spoke about with enthusiasm.

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inadequate

Some children talk fondly of their relationships with staff, saying they are kind and caring. The staff are attentive and nurturing in their interactions with the children.

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inadequate

Senior leaders and staff have provided sensitive and compassionate support to one child who has experienced a significant bereavement. Their approach has been nurturing and trauma-informed, and this has helped the child to strengthen their resilience and to continue to make some progress through a difficult time.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff’s responses to supporting children’s emotional well-being are inconsistent. In some cases, children benefit from strong relationships with staff and have well- developed risk management plans that help staff to balance safety with Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 4 independence. However, for other children, risk assessments are ineffective and fail to provide staff with clear guidance on how to manage presenting risks effectively. This inconsistency places some children at greater risk of harm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Plans to support children when they go missing from the home are unclear and lack sufficient direction. As a result, staff do not always take appropriate or timely action. For example, there have been occasions when staff failed to report children as missing to the police in a timely way or made efforts to locate them, leaving children in situations of risk. In one serious incident, a child was left sleeping in a park under the influence of drugs, despite staff being informed of their whereabouts. This represents a significant safeguarding failure.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

While staff sometimes use consequences to manage behaviour, these are not consistently recorded in accordance with regulatory requirements. This limits management oversight and prevents meaningful review of the effectiveness of these measures. It also reduces opportunities to involve children in reflective discussions about their behaviour and the impact of consequences.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Staff’s responses to incidents involving substance misuse are not always effective. In one instance, two children disclosed that they had smoked cannabis laced with an unknown substance and were displaying concerning behaviours. Staff did not seek medical advice or monitor the children appropriately once they had gone to bed.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

Although staff talk to children about the dangers of drug use and seek guidance from external professionals, there is a lack of professional curiosity about how children are accessing substances. For example, when controlled drugs were found in a child’s bedroom, a child disclosed that they were holding them for someone else. This was not reported to the police or explored further with the child. This failure represents a missed opportunity to safeguard the child and disrupt potential exploitation.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: inadequate

The manager’s and staff’s responses to children’s immediate health concerns are variable. This is because there are serious gaps in follow-up planning and risk mitigation. For example, after a child sustained a head injury and had a concussion, no plan was put in place to monitor the child in line with medical advice on their return to the home. Furthermore, the risk management plans around children misusing substances are weak. This lack of planning compromises the children’s safety, health and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is insufficient professional challenge from senior leaders when external agencies fail to fulfil their responsibilities to children. For instance, in one case, a child made an allegation against a staff member several months ago. Due to delays by external professionals in engaging with the child, no further action was taken, and the matter remains unexplored. Leaders and managers failed to challenge this. Consequently, the child has not been consulted to understand their perspective, to Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 5 understand any risks that may exist or to determine what support or action they need or would like.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Systems for the oversight of children’s care planning are not effective. Senior leaders have not established robust mechanisms to ensure that plans are regularly reviewed and accurately reflect children’s evolving needs. As a result, key records are outdated or incomplete, including essential information that staff need to safeguard children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager demonstrates a commitment to some aspects of staff development, arranging specialist training in areas such as equality and identity. While that is positive, there are, at the same time, notable gaps in staff’s knowledge related to core areas of children’s needs, particularly emotional well-being and self- harm. These gaps had not been identified by leaders and managers. Consequently, they do not know if staff are fully equipped to support children’s complex emotional and mental health needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some notifications to the regulator have not been submitted within required timescales and have lacked sufficient detail. This compromises the regulator’s ability to maintain effective oversight of how incidents are managed by leaders and managers. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that staff have the skills to identify and act accordingly when there is a safeguarding concern for a child, and that risks and risk mitigation strategies for all children to reduce the risks of harm are reviewed. 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 7 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 25 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that appropriate action is taken when a child raises an allegation, and that leaders and managers raise appropriate challenge to relevant safeguarding partners when their responses fall short. 25 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s care planning is informed by the relevant plans from children’s placing authorities and is updated to reflect children’s needs, and that children have positive endings when moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(v)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all children are engaged in education or employment opportunities, or have a plan to return to education or employment without delay. 25 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 9 the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure there is a record of any consequences used to support children’s behaviour and that managers have oversight of such records.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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is instigated; or 25 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 10 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ashburnham, Cuckfield Road, Ansty, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17 5AG

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Inspector

Sara Stoker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066466 12 and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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